Hi,
I built a system that can detect and block Short Form Videos like Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts. It works by connecting the iphone to a VPN and then do statistics on network packets (no decryption).
I was wondering the feasibility of porting this to run on device.
Functionality wise I would need: packet interception, packet drop, DNS query interception.
I saw that Content filter providers could be something to look into, but then I read an article of how you would have to have a managed device which is not ideal for the end user.
New to apple development, the lack of snippets and code examples is confusing.
I recommend that you start with TN3134 Network Extension provider deployment. That covers the deployment scenarios for content filters.
Then move on to TN3120 Expected use cases for Network Extension packet tunnel providers. That explains why DTS doesn’t support using a packet tunnel provider as an ersatz content filter. So, you can continue down the packet tunnel provider path, but you’re on your own )-:
The key problem with using a packet tunnel provider as a content filter is that packet tunnel providers have to be able to forward all the traffic that’s passed to them. If you’re building a VPN that’s fine. You encapsulate the traffic and send it to VPN server. No muss, no fuss. But if you don’t have a VPN server than that path isn’t available to you, and things start getting complex.
Share and Enjoy
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Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
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